Maqonda Ndlovu
All is set for the second edition of the Vivo Energy Sem Kasete Cycle Challenge, tomorrow from Tsumeb and Grootfontein to Coblenz.
Over 100 cycling enthusiasts are expected to participate in the event, which will cover a 129-kilometre race and a 69-kilometre event for both males and females.
According to Power House Cycling Club organiser Ebben-Ezer Iita, those cycling 129km will start the race from Kupferquelle Resort at 07h00, while those, cycling 69km will start the race at 08h30 at Shell Garage in Grootfontein.
Iita told New Era Sport that they expected a quality field, which will include current Nedbank Desert Dash champion Drikus Coetzee and a team from Angola that will include a national champion.
Iita noted that this year’s event will be bigger and better than the inaugural event due to the addition of elite cyclists, and he hoped that next year’s event will even have more international participation.
“Preparations are almost complete from a logistic point of view. We have organised marshals, a police escort for the cyclist, medical personnel, water points in between, and the general safety of cyclists, support teams, and fans is well taken care of,” Iita said. Only two teams registered for the event, The Namibia Cleaning Chemical Solutions (NCCS) and the Angolan team, while the rest are individual cyclists, both amateur and professional. He added that his team had also prepared well for the cycling event, even though the cold winter had made it difficult sometimes. “As part of our preparations as a team, we did manage to put in work in the long rides of up to 200km; we worked on our tempo, and we also worked on our sprints. The weather was really our biggest challenge, but we hope we did enough,” he said.
Iita said there will be two paracyclists who will participate in the event using tricycles.There will be cash prizes for the top three cyclists in both the 129 km and 69 km events.
Iita confirmed to this publication that after the race tomorrow, the Angolan team and Powerhouse Cycling team will drive to Windhoek, where they will participate in the fifth edition of the Nedbank Windhoek Pedal Power Series set for Sunday at Teufelsschulcht on the outskirts of Windhoek.
–jrnmarko@gmail.com